Wednesday, December 17, 2008

"A WHISPER OF PROMISE AT MIDNIGHT"
ANOTHER CHRISTMAS MIRACLE - TRUE STORY

Dear Seeker of the King,

As I was sitting and waiting upon the Lord late this evening, my heart was yearning for the further release He has promised my husband Steve and I to be once again, “sent” into all the world.

My heart was aching and longing for Germany, France, and Australia where we have been graced with rich relationships, open doors, and invitations to return and mentor and Father and Mother those who are hungry for a deeper knowledge and walk with the Lord.

With all of the economic nightmares and daily exposures of fraud and greed, I must admit, my prayers and heartfelt pleas were poured out to the Lord.

"Lord? How will we ever “be sent” again? Who would send us in such difficult times? Why has the passion to get there increased so intensely now at this time?"

And then…

… I “coincidentally” came across another true “Miracle Christmas Story” put in my path precisely for me, at Midnight, for such a moment.

I laughed, wept joyful tears, and thanked the Father that HE is truly ever present and He is ever-speaking encouragement, hope, and promise.

Are you in a desperate place right now, or are you longing for a tender touch from the Father’s hand of hope and strength?

Please take just a few minutes to read the very touching and true “Christmas Miracle Story” written from a man who was also in a very difficult and sorrowful place on Christmas, until….

It was one of the worst times of my life. My non-profit organization, which I had founded three years earlier, was near bankrupt. Soon I would have to fire my employees, many of whom had become my good friends. The little money I had left was barely enough to feed myself. And it was Christmas.

And then something extraordinary happened. I call it “a Christmas story.”

I was going over the edge. To be frank, I was nearly delirious. I could not remember the last time I had slept well. Not only was I facing the dread of having to fire my staff, but there were other problems as well.

Our little non-profit, known as the Central Europe Institute, was no longer so little. We now had offices in Prague in the Czech Republic, in Bratislava in Slovakia, and in Washington, DC. The twelve young, industrious Czechs, Slovaks and Americans who worked for me had become something like a family to me.

We were doing great things together, helping entrepreneurs start small businesses where previously, during decades of communist rule, it had been illegal for them to do so. We were helping these enterprising men and women live in freedom, and we, ourselves, were experiencing the thrill of being free for the first time in our young lives, as we were discovering what we could do on our own.

It was a wonderful time, and we shared a spirit that made us feel proud, happy and close.
But it was all coming to an end.

The good work we were doing, the many successes we had enjoyed, and the fun we shared along the way made our impending downfall all the more painful.

I was facing our financial crisis alone. My staff worked out of Prague and Bratislava. I was back in Washington, trying my best to find the money to continue our activities overseas.
The financial pressure was intense. All our potential sponsors had been approached. None seemed ready to jump to our aid. And, with the Christmas season in high gear, certainly none were thinking of us. It was not a good time to ask for help. And I did not want to trouble anyone with my bad news at a time when all should be happy. I didn’t. I kept my worries to myself.

CONFUSED AND WORRIED

My problems were numerous. In addition to the lack of money, there were paperwork demands that needed to be satisfied. Our government wanted to know how we had spent the money we had received in previous years.
I was terribly confused, and worried. Accounting is not simple math and our government’s tax rules are often mysterious. What would happen to me if I didn’t do the job correctly? I was young, had little experience working with the IRS, and at those moments of deepest frustration I always seemed to remember the stories of those jailed for failing to comply with the rules.

I found myself staring at hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of tax publications that would have to be read. And everywhere around me, it seemed, were piles of receipts written in a variety of languages that would all have to be made sense of. Wading through this mess of paper was not a happy prospect.

And then there was my office. Because I had little money to live on, it was also my home. I had one large desk, one couch which I could sleep on, some shelves, and a small bathroom with only a toilet and a tiny sink. There was no kitchen or refrigerator.
These cramped quarters did not help. The first thing each morning, as I opened my eyes, I was immediately confronted by my impossible workload. Late at night, it was still there, right in front of me. All day long with no break.

I couldn’t sleep. I felt like a failure. I was about to disappoint all those I involved in my work. I worried about my own future. Could I ever get another job when I so grandly flopped in this one?

And it was Christmas. It made it all worse. If I ventured out onto the street, what did I find? Happy people. Beautiful music escaping out of doors swung open. Festive decorations everywhere. Shoppers scurrying about carrying attractively wrapped presents.
Their joy only reminded me of my pain. And those presents, I had no money to buy them for my loved ones. I was from a large family with a growing number of nephews and nieces. What would I tell them as I came home empty-handed?

Christmas was just three days ahead, and I had no options left. I was miserable. I tried my best to work my way through those mounds of paper, despite being in such a foul mood. The lack of sleep was catching up to me. My brain grew increasingly less able to function, and the fears that were running rampant through my mind wreaked greater and greater havoc.

The hour was getting later and later, and I was going delirious—over the edge.
I was losing touch with the world as we know it, the one in which our body knows which way is up and which way is down. All of a sudden, my chief concern was maintaining a sense of balance, only I could not find a stationary plane to stabilize myself on.
In desperation, I stopped work and just sat there. I had been through hard times before, also at Christmas. How had I survived?

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

I thought of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, and remembered how, in times past, watching it had restored a sense of peace to me.
The movie’s hero, George Bailey, memorably played by Jimmy Stewart, was also facing a crisis. His bank, at Christmas time, was about to fail. He would have to let down all the people who had relied on him: his employees, depositors who had entrusted him with their money, and the families that had built their homes thanks to his loans. He also had his wife and kids to think of. All these people stood to lose if George failed.

George, facing this crisis, and at a loss for what to do, flees. He makes his way to a bridge outside of town where he considers leaping off to his death. Before he acts, though, his plan is foiled by Clarence, a bumbling “angel second class,” an amiable old white-haired man described as having the “IQ of a rabbit” but the “faith of a child.” What does Clarence do? He jumps into the river himself, knowing that George would immediately forget about his own problems and set out to rescue him.

After the two dry off, Clarence takes George on a tour of the town, pointing out along the way how valuable his life has been to the people who lived there. George is able to see what Bedford Falls would have been without him—an unseemly place, with many of his friends down on their luck.

In the meantime, the town’s residents, finally aware of George’s problems, collect money from among themselves to save George’s bank.

George, after Clarence’s intervention, rushes back to his wife and children, and soon finds himself in the midst of the Christmas party of his life. The town’s residents gather with the money they had collected, a brother arrives from far away, his children are happy, and everywhere there is love in the air.
For George, it’s a wonderful life.

He turns to thank Clarence, but Clarence is gone. Having saved George, he’s earned his reward: his angel’s wings. No longer is he an angel second class.
I had always loved this movie, and it never failed to straighten out my perspective on life, so I thought to watch it, but among all the problems I was facing, I faced some others: I didn’t have a television or a VCR. The movie might bring me back to the edge, but how could I watch it? What instead could I do?
Like George, I fled.

A MIDNIGHT WALK

The hour was late, it was near midnight, and it was bitter cold out. A fierce wind had swept everyone off the streets of Washington.

I loved this kind of weather, when I had to think. The harsh conditions allowed me no false sense of comfort, and I was glad to have the streets to myself. With so many problems to sort out, I prepared myself for what was sure to be a very long walk.

Unlike George, I was not headed for a bridge, and I had no thoughts of ending my life. To my surprise, though, I did run into a friendly old man. I would find out only later, after having the chance to listen to him talk and upon noticing the gold replica of the monstrance* he wore on his lapel, that he, too, like Clarence, had the IQ of a rabbit but the faith of a child.

At first, though, I walked right by him. I was less than a minute into my walk and was focused on the problems preoccupying my mind. But five steps past him, I stopped. What, I asked myself, is an old man doing huddled on a doorstep at this hour in this weather?
I turned and walked back to him, and as politely as I could, I asked, “Excuse me sir, but do you have a place to stay?” He answered that he did not. “Would you like to stay at my place?” He would.

As we began the short walk back to my office, he told me, “It’s a good thing you came by when you did because I just decided to kill myself.” The cold weather was that bad, he had been suffering through it for many nights, and, he told me, a homeless friend had just ended his life the night before.

I was stunned. All of a sudden, I forgot my own problems. Through one small act of kindness, I had saved someone’s life.

Soon we were back at my office. Robert was exhausted. I gave him my couch to sleep on, my pillow to rest his head on, and my blanket to keep him warm.

Desperately in need of a good night’s sleep myself, I wrapped myself in my winter coat, folded up a towel to use as a pillow, and lay down on my dirty floor to sleep.

AN IMPORTANT REVELATION

I awoke the next morning to an important revelation. I had never slept better. I never felt so satisfied. Robert was still sound asleep on my couch. I told myself, “Peter, you now know how to get a good night’s sleep: give a good night’s sleep to someone else.”
After a short walk down the street for a cup of coffee and some small breakfast, I sat down at my desk to work, Robert still sleeping behind me.

Gone was the panic that had gripped me in the days before. My problems were the same, but now I did not worry about them. I quietly went about my work, and even though there was no end in sight and no solution at hand, I was at peace. I did the only thing I could do: work in the hope that somehow the situation would soon change for the better.
Robert didn’t wake up until six in the evening. He had slept for eighteen hours.
He was hungry, and his body was shaking. He could not control the movement of his hands, and as he walked I feared he might lose his balance and fall over.

I took him out for some dinner at a nearby restaurant. We made our way to a table in the middle of a room filled with stylishly dressed, young people, and we sat down together, myself and this scruffy old man, who hadn’t shaved or bathed in days.
Robert ordered soup, but he couldn’t keep a steady hand on his spoon. So, I helped him eat.

I was vaguely proud of myself, but mostly I was in awe of what was unfolding before me. I did not set out to help this man, I had not given a minute’s thought to what I was doing, I simply had done what seemed right at the moment. And, here was the result: he was having a warm meal and I was at peace. What was so elusive to us just a day before, somehow, was now ours.

When we got back to my office, Robert immediately went back to sleep and I returned to my work. Later, I myself got another good night of sleep, once again on the floor.
The next morning, Robert and I both awoke at a normal hour. He looked terribly unkempt. The white growth on his face was thick and his hair unruly. His hands were still trembling, so I did something it had never occurred to me that I would ever do.

I took a towel from my closet and soaked it in warm water in my sink. I pressed the towel to Robert’s face to soften his beard and then applied shaving cream. With my razor, I carefully shaved his face and then, with the warm towel, I washed it clean. With a few strokes of a comb and the dabbing of a dry towel, Robert was soon just fine. I thought to myself, “What a distinguished looking man,” and I told him, “Robert, you look like a million dollars,” and he almost did.

He gave out a good laugh.

As I had work to do and Robert did not want to sit around all day, I asked him what he normally did for lunch. He said he liked a certain meal at Sbarro, an Italian fast food restaurant, so I gave him the little more than four dollars he needed and we agreed that he would come back to the office in the afternoon. Again, we would have dinner together.

CHRISTMAS EVE

It was now the day before Christmas, and I faced a decision: would I go home to New York to my family for the holiday? What would I do with Robert?

I was embarrassed about having no presents to bring to any family members, and I could hardly pay for the trip to New York. And there was still so much work to be done. So, I was not eager to go home.

But I was more worried about Robert. How could I leave him alone? Even if I gave him the keys to my basement office and let him stay there by himself, he might fall coming down the steps, hit his head on something, and no one would find him for days. I couldn’t let that happen, so my choice was made for me. I would stay. Only one difficulty remained.
How would I tell my family?

Christmas was an important holiday for us. I am the sixth of seven children and my parents, particularly my Mom, liked to have us all at home. I had never missed a Christmas before.

We are a Catholic family, and I hoped my parents would be proud that I was taking care of a man in dire need. But miss Christmas, such an important holiday, and spend it instead with a homeless man I did not know? How could this be explained?

And then I thought, “a homeless man at Christmas.”

If one had to spend Christmas away from one’s family, what more appropriate reason could one have than to care for a man without a home? Jesus Christ, after all, entered this world on the first Christmas as the most famous homeless man in history, there being “no room at the inn” for Mary and Joseph.

Still, it was hard to call my parents.

They were concerned. Homeless people can often be violent. Some are criminals. Was I foolishly putting myself in danger? I explained that Robert was a harmless old man, nearly sixty years of age, born in Ireland, but too simple for this world we live in. Someone had to care for him. And on this Christmas, that someone was me.

Christmas mornings for me had usually been noisy affairs. Our house was always so crowded it was ready to burst at the seams, with many children running happily about. “Merry Christmas,” “Merry Christmas,” “Merry Christmas,” we would all heartily greet each other.

But this Christmas was different. At my office, there was no tree, no presents, no music, no children, just the two of us, Robert and me. All we had that morning was silence. A beautiful silence. My spartan room was filled with the spirit of one man taking care of another man on Christmas day. We were experiencing Christmas at its very essence.
I gave Robert, again, the four dollars and change he would need for lunch and he set out upon his way. I celebrated the day by continuing my work, of which I had so much to do, and I worked contentedly, even happily.

THE LAST DAY

When I awoke on the 26th, time and my money was running out. I had less than ten dollars to my name. And late that night I would have to travel to Prague one last time to fire my employees. I consoled myself with the thought that, with Christmas day past us, at least they had enjoyed the holiday undisturbed by any worries.

As much as I wanted to care for Robert, I could no longer do so. Fortunately, I had found a church in Georgetown with a shelter that would take him in. Later that afternoon, after he returned from Sbarro, I would drop him off.

As I gave Robert that morning the four dollars and change he would need for his lunch, I took comfort in the knowledge that he was going to be taken care of.

But, as for me, looking at the five dollars I had left, I told myself: “Peter McFadden, today you will eat lunch but you will not eat dinner.” I did not panic, though. I was perfectly calm. I simply accepted my humble state. I even remember being a little curious. I had never known hunger before, and that night I was to be introduced to it.

I pondered the fate of our Institute, and even though its end was imminent, I remained at peace. I had done all that I could and the thought that I had saved Robert’s life was the best antidote to any feeling of personal failure I had once felt.

I enjoyed my short walk to the Cafe Blanca for lunch that day. I spent my last dollar on the same chicken sandwich I ate every day, the sandwich made so well by my friend Jason, the cafe’s owner. He and I talked, as we usually did, about football. No one watching us, not even Jason, would have sensed that this might have been my “last lunch.”

As I walked back to my office, with only a few coins left in my pocket, I remained contented. It was not mine to worry about what might happen to me, only to take quiet pride in the fact that I had done the right thing.

I thought back to all the years of Catholic school education I had had, and realized they had not been wasted. I had found myself with very, very little, yet, upon finding someone who had even less, I had readily, even happily, given away what little I had.

As I entered the building that housed our office, I stooped down to pick up the mail that had just arrived. As I leafed through the envelopes, I was surprised to find one from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New York. I had submitted a request for funding to this foundation not long before but had not expected to hear from them for another few months, which would have been a few months too late.

I opened the envelope and, inside, found a letter notifying us that we had been awarded a grant of $50,000.

I would not have to fire my employees after all, and our great work would continue. My first experience of hunger would have to wait for another day.

My last dollar, which I had just spent, was not my last dollar after all.
Robert never came home that afternoon. My guess is that he feared life in a homeless shelter, which can be dangerous, and he did not want me to take him to one. I searched for him everywhere I thought I might find him, but he was not to be found.

I hope one day to see Robert again, in heaven, with his wings. Then, I can thank him.
In the meantime, I thank God for my wonderful life.

****************************************
The events described in this story, which took place at Christmas, 1992, are all true, and have been faithfully recorded by its author. Peter McFadden continued to serve as President of the Central Europe Institute until early 1998. He now resides in Cold Spring, New York.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

I found this beautiful and heart warming story to share with you, your children, grand-children, and friends during this "Season of Miracles." Jesus Christ came to the planet as a child, emptied, impoverished, and fully stripped of all glory in order that we might have peace in times of great distress and difficulty.

He also came to show us of the Love the Heavenly Father has for all of mankind so that they might be saved.

The following story echos all of this, and ever so beautifully expresses how the Lord knows where we all need to be in His plan to lead those around us who do not know Him...

About a week before Christmas, the family bought a new nativity set. When they unpacked it, they found two figures of the Baby Jesus.

"Someone must have packed this wrong," the mother said, counting out the figures. "We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have two."

"You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have an extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes, saying that if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. Put on your warm coats. It is freezing out there."

The manager of the store copied down mother's message and the next time they were in the store they saw the cardboard sign that read, "If you are missing Baby Jesus, call 7126." All week long they waited for someone to call. Surely, they thought someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang, mother would say, "I'll bet that's about Jesus.", but it never was.

Father tried to explain there are thousands of these scattered over the country, and the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida or Texas or California. Those packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested to just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it.

"Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do!" said the children. "Surely someone will call," mother said. "We'll just keep the two of them together in the manger until someone calls."

When no call had come by 5:00 PM on Christmas Eve, mother insisted that father just run down to the store to see if there were any sets left. "You can see them right through the window, over on the counter," she said. "If they are all gone, I'll know someone is bound to call tonight."

"Run down to the store?" father thundered. "It's 15 below zero out there!" "Oh, Daddy, we'll go with you," Tommy and Mary began to put on their coats. Father gave a long sigh and headed for the front closet. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered.

Tommy and Mary ran ahead as father reluctantly walked out in the cold. Mary got to the store first and pressed her nose up to the store window. "They're all gone, Daddy," she shouted. "Every set must be sold."

"Hooray" Tommy said. "The mystery will now be solved tonight!"

Father heard the news still a half block away and immediately turned on his heel and headed back home. When they got back into the house, they noticed that mother was gone and so was the extra Baby Jesus figurine. "Someone must have called and she went out to deliver the figurine," my father reasoned, pulling off his boots. "You kids get ready for bed while I wrap mother's present."

Then the phone rang. Father yelled "answer the phone and tell 'em we found a home for Jesus." But it was mother calling with instructions for us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately, and bring three blankets, a box of cookies and some milk..

"Now what has she gotten us into?" my father groaned as we bundled up again. "205 Chestnut. Why that's across town. Wrap that milk up good in the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can't we all just get on with Christmas? It's probably 20 below out there now. And the wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night like this!"

When they got to the house at 205 Chestnut Street, it was the darkest one on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room and, the moment we set foot on the porch steps, my mother opened the door and shouted, "They're here, Oh thank God, you got here, Ray! You kids take those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch. I'll take the milk and cookies."

"Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel?" my father asked. "We have just walked through below zero weather with the wind in our faces all the way."

"Never mind all that now," my mother interrupted. "There is no heat in this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn't know what to do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will have a very bleak Christmas, so don't you complain. I told her you could fix that oil furnace in a jiffy."

My mother strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together on the couch. The children's mother explained to my father that her husband had run off, taking bedding, clothing, and almost every piece of furniture, but she had been doing all right until the furnace broke down.

"I been din washin' and ironin' for people and cleanin' the five and dime," she said. "I saw your number every day there, on those boxes on the counter. When the furnace went out, that number kept going' through my mind... 7162... 7162."

"Said on the box that if a person was missin' Jesus, they should call you. That's how I knew you were good Christian people, willin' to help folks. I figured that maybe you would help me, too. So I stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called your missus. I'm not missin' Jesus, mister, because I sure love the Lord. But I am missin' heat. I have no money to fix that furnace."

"Okay, Okay" said father. "You've come to the right place. Now lets see. You've got a little oil burner over there in the dining room. Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue. I'll look it over, see what it needs."

Mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm milk. As she set the cups down on the coffee table, I noticed the figure of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the table. It was the only sign of Christmas in the house. The children stared with wide eyed with wonder at the plate of cookies my mother sat before them.

Father finally got the oil burner working but said, "you need more oil." "I'll make a few calls tonight and get some oil."

"Yes sir, you came to the right place," said the woman...

On the way home, father did not complain about the cold weather and had barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone. "Ed, hey, how are ya, Ed? Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too. Say, Ed, we have kind of an unusual situation here. I know you've got that pick-up truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck?"

"You do?"

By this time the rest of the family were pulling clothes out of their closets and toys off of their shelves. It was long after their bedtime when they were wrapping gifts. The pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, Father let them ride along in the back of the truck.

No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set, but as I grow older I realize that it wasn't a packing mistake at all. Jesus saves, that's what He does.

By Jean Gietzen
Based on her writings on the internet from the book "If You're Missing Baby Jesus". Published by and available at Random House (www.randomhouse.com) and other online booksellers.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.”
Psalm 69:1-3

THERE ARE MANY THINGS GOING ON
IN THE MIDST OF GOD'S PEOPLE…

So many believers have gone through pain and devastation because of betrayal and disappointment in those with whom they have at one time “walked with” in the Lord.

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one that hates me who has exalted himself against me;
Then I could hide from him.
But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God among the people.”
Psalm 55:12-14

DEGREES OF SEPARATION AND DECEPTION

Church leaders and members or friends separate. Their unresolved issues and wounds infect others around them. With their tongue and pen, (and emails)!.. their resentment and bitterness spread in uncontrollable proportions.

Christians in other ministries and relationships receive the bad report and often, they don't even know the people involved but - because they have inclined their ears to hear the suggested and well-placed evil reports, the conversation poisons them like toxic waste in their soul. If unchecked, this becomes a hideous, malignant cancer-like cell eventually damaging their mind and above all, their spiritual discernment.

“Who is wise? He will realize these things.
Who is discerning? He will understand them.”

“The ways of the LORD are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But the rebellious stumble in them.”
Hosea 14:9

The age-old serpent, the ultimate enemy of our souls, has not lost the art of deception even after centuries! He, even now, can cause God's people, including the sincere ones, to miss the mark if they are willing to only hear one side of a story!

A MURDEROUS STAMPED AT WAL-MART?

The frenzied consumer culture we are seeing as a result of selfishness and feeding upon fear has begun to reach a newly fevered pitch.

People getting trampled to death while others are “herding” their way to the discounted Hi-Definition Televisions reflects the hardness of heart and disrespect for the needs and lives of those around us.

This type of behavior is a prime example of even how believers have become “selectively “ hard of hearing when it comes to serving one another, or encouraging one another, or having patience with one another!

One moment we are asking for forgiveness and prayer, and in nearly the next breath, slanderous retorts are spoken out in anger.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,
Fighting and slander, along with every form of nastiness.
Ephesians 4:31

Once bitter words are spoken or written, they cannot be retracted.
Sadly, those who often shout the loudest about being maligned are often the perpetrators of assassinating the characters of those whom have been in disagreement with them or who have possibly warned them about a need for a course correction.

“He who conceals his hatred has lying lips,
And whoever spreads slander is a fool.”
Proverbs 10:18

TODAY MANY THINGS HAVE DEGENERATED INTO BLURRED INSIGNIFICANCE AND UNCERTAINTY.

The beauty of what God's purpose in His people really is meant to passionately reflect is missing. Things that are now being said and done do not mean what they did mean originally in His Word.
Twisting of truth to fits one’s own idea of God’s will has become acceptable and is often left unchallenged.

So many spiritual and scriptural terms are put into motion, but they are not in the same dimension and point of view, which are in the Divine plan!

THE TRAGEDY IS THAT SO MANY WELL-MEANING BELIEVERS HAVE GONE ON WITH THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE OF SEARCHING FOR THE WILL OF THE LORD AND THEY FAIL TO SEE THAT THE POWER OF HIS RADIANT LIFE IS MISSING!

The Apostle Paul warned us in his letter to Timothy about this….

" This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come…Having the form of godliness (true religion) but denying the power there of. "

MY HEART IS BROKEN TO SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE HAPPENING ALL AROUND US.

So much is falling short of its original design. There is so much labor and "rallying" being pumped out there and it is being poured into the Self Promotion Machine" more than any time in the history of God's people! Yet the toil is ending in heartbreaking disappointment!

SAINTS, ONLY THOSE DEVOTED TO HUMILITY AND HONOR
can be saved from this deadly poison that lulls those longing to be entertained and pampered into apathy and spiritual paralysis!

God's faithful ones in this hour should seek him and that which is upon his heart. What the Lord is doing in this era is so different …
…and we should be sensitive to Him!

He is looking for His People of the “Secret Place” in which the power of resurrection may freely function.

The Apostle Paul said "according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20b).

These People will have to be men and women who have “seen”!
They shall be like "a voice in the wilderness".

IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR
THAT GOD MUST DO A FRESH THING WITH HIS REMNANT.

And the actual “thing” is that He is drawing them to seek the Lord Himself and His recognizable presence! Away from the throng, nearer to the Word, bowed in repentance and prayer.

Oh that God may find His Davids in this crucial hour that will set their faces towards Him at the command of His voice!
Without it, Humankind will continue its fall and decline into further confusion, tragedy, and self-preservation.

LET US RUN IMMEDIATELY…
… TO THE THRONE OF GRACE AND MERCY!

Now! While our hearts are freshly tenderized and troubled over the recent events in the earth!

There is the safe voice of the Father calling us. Let us respond with ears to Hear and hearts that obey.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16

Duplication and sharing of this writing is permitted provided that complete article and website information for Mary Lindow is included. Thank you.
2008
www.marylindow.com

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Habits of Life or Destruction
Brian Francis Hume
http://cause2impact.blogspot.com/
Is it plausible to suggest that the fulfillment of the calling upon your life is determined by the habits that you form? Habits are more powerful in determining long-term success and impact than simply our perceived intentions or motivations. Many have desired to change the world—yet few have done so in a manner that they intended to. Why is this so? One possibility: They didn’t have the necessary inner fortitude to bring about the God-ideal future into reality. Godly habits beget desirable outcomes that are in alignment with heaven’s will for our lives.
In fact I would venture to say that each single person changes the world based on their habits, whether they realize it or not. We all have habits. As the old cliché asserts, we are creatures of habit. However the question remains: Are my habits life-giving (reinforcing my God-ideal future) or are they impeding my desired long-term outcomes? Bad habits (i.e., elevating self at the expense of others, lusting in your heart, lying, negative self-talk, procrastination, laziness, etc.) will impede and undermine all that the Lord desires to do in us and through us. The world is changed for the better or for the worse as a result of the habits that we formulate—hence, the need for Spirit-inspired habits in our lives is paramount.
How do you define habit? Here is my working definition-in-progress: What you do consistently day-in and day-out that reveals and determines who you really are. I’m sure many of you have read the following that has proven to be so true in the course of history:
Your thoughts influences your choices; your choices will determine your actions; your actions will become your habits; your habits develop your character; and your character will determine your destiny.
Note the progression: Thought life-Choice-Actions-Habits-Character-Destiny. Furthermore, it can be rephrased: "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” This is in alignment with the biblical principle of sowing and reaping.
There isn’t anything more devastating than a believer who has become passive and apathetic in the pursuit of the Lord. Often those ensnared in the vice of lust and pornography have become lethargic in addressing the call to holiness in their lives. I can attest to this from past personal experience. Think about it. It starts as a thought not to take action within a given context such as a quick glance (seemingly innocent) at a magazine rack or a commercial during a football game. Or possibly a double take when an attractive woman walks by at the mall or in the hallway. Or it could be an "innocent" click on a Foxnews "news" article concerning a celebrity. No harm done. Nobody even noticed.
Meanwhile the thought life is suddenly experiencing a barrage of enticing thoughts—it seems so harmless, just a quick, passing flashback about an immoral past experience. Over time you find yourself consistently drawn to scantily dressed women on the Internet. It seems that images easily trigger an adrenaline rush that is quite intoxicating. You feel so alive. Upon the completion of the lust binge, you quickly “repent” afterwards with much worldly sorrow, but fail to take measures to address the sin issue. Soon you are repeating the very thing that you vowed not to do again.
Disillusionment kicks in.
Shame becomes a constant companion as passivity reigns supreme. On “good days” you manage not to indulge in your secret habit—however, the constraint was aided by a desire not to be overwhelmed by shame. Callousness of the heart is evident. Ability to empathize with those hurting is compromised because the soul is bitter, numb, and passive. What was once something that you thought you had “under control” is now a habit that has taken on a life of its own—it now controls you.
In time your character is defiled. Lust abounds. Although suppressed when appropriate, your inwards rage all the more for the illicit, forbidden fruit of lust. When you do partake of it, it seems to temporarily relieve you of your misery—a moment of bliss—only to quickly abandon you when the time has passed. Lust is never satisfied—lust breeds more lust. The past echo of momentary pleasure rings hollow, exposing the shallowness of one’s vain pursuits—yet the pain of death never seems to subside. Again, you find yourself confined to hell on earth.
Interestingly, sleeping giants slumber within, awakened when confronted. The inner rage is at full tilt, tipping at the point when responsibility is demanded of the passive man. Without fail, passivity comes alive with a vengeance when confronted with the truth of the man’s sin. The hidden shroud of self-pity is fully exposed, thus it seeks to take shelter under the guise of a tongue lashing that spews venom. Now the destiny of the man is looming towards destruction.
However, it doesn’t have to end in a destiny forfeited. What was once deemed as impossible (a life of integrity and purity) can become a reality through the redeeming work of Christ. Hence, one must count the cost to determine if they are willing to pay the price for restoration, freedom, self-control, and character—namely, the inner fortitude of Christlikeness.
It is a process. It is grueling. It is painstakingly slow.
Foul thoughts constantly bombard the mind. Fantasies swirl uninhibited, bemusing its captivating strength to allure the downtrodden. The seemingly forsakened man trudges along in spite of the constant feeling of no hope. Over time thoughts are increasingly taken captive—slowly but steadily—as the soul in anguish cries out to God, "God have mercy on me!"
Despair and desperation lock head on—desperation in the grace of God prevails. The prayer of the subdued changes. No longer is the prayer to remove the temptation—rather, it is something of this effect, “Strengthen me to overcome the temptation!”
Hell stands still.
No longer is the man passive, seeking the easy way out—instead, he has chosen to ask the Lord to give him what delights His heart: A life that possesses the inner fortitude of Christlikeness. It is a process to be conformed to the image of Christ. Inner strength begins to grow as thoughts are consistently taken captive. Slowly the desires of the heart began to reflect God’s desires. Albeit the change is the occasional stumbling, however, the righteous man is quick to get up with godly sorrow that brings about a heart of repentance. It is a stumbling forward facedown before the Cross.
It is a broken man, pliable in the hands of the Almighty.
Truly it is a confrontation of colossal proportions: broken, weak man in the strength of the Spirit of God confronts the giants that once loomed large in his life. The man who trembles before the Word of the Lord becomes the conduit in which all of hell trembles. The process of trembling is the very process of the Word becoming Incarnate in the man's life. The once passive man becomes a champion for the Cause of Christ, slaying the giants of perversion, lust, and self-centeredness that dominates the cultural landscape.
The image of the forbidden that once seared the conscience is now replaced by the image of Christ in the man. Shame has turned to delight; mourning has become joy; selfishness; and lust has been trumped by the love of God.
Choice after choice, day in and day out, begins to formulate the bedrock of humility, hope, faith, holiness, gentleness, and the like—it is the emergence of the image of Christ fully demonstrated in a weak, trembling man. It is the broken man who is able to overcome the temptations of the flesh because faith, hope, and love overcame him. Brokenness wrought forth in the once passive man reveals a stunning display of the triumphant God-man, Christ Jesus—“Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
My Closing Throughts
Today is the day to start moving towards this place of restoration. Don't be like the man that I heard about today. At the age of 89 years old, he was on his deathbed in the hospital. A young friendly, caring nurse attended to his needs to ensure that this man could die with a measure of dignity. Sadly, this man boasted to his family that this woman was flirting with him because she desired him sexually. Huh? He erroneously mistaken the actions of a gentle, kind nurse as some indicator of sexual attraction. This was a man who had given his life to a constant intake of pornography. Don't allow pornography to take you to your deathbed with a hellish grip on your life. May it be said that you lived well (i.e., set apart, consecrated, holy, pure, righteous) so that you may die well. Don't waste your life. Repent now and do what it takes to walk in victory over this sin.
For the Cause,
Brian Francis Hume

Friday, November 14, 2008

Recently I received another extremely rich and fresh teaching insight from a minister in Sweden. The man writing this is the person who heads up the ministry and is an intense intercessor and a prophetic voice.

I DON'T WANT TO LOAD YOU ALL DOWN WITH BUNDLES OF EMAIL.

However...

...This one is an impassioned cry for those who are willing to obey the Lord - at any price.

Right now, everything in the Church as we have know it to be, is being examined under the microscope of God. He is not allowing anything to be hidden, justified, or explained away.

RAW exposure is what I call it!

This meaty article simply amplifies what the Lord is doing in His Body. Enjoy!

ISRAEL AT KADESH-BARNEA. ON THE EDGE OF ENTERING…
AT THE THRESHOLD OF OBTAINING… FINALLY MAKING IT.
Just send some spies to gather up-to-date information on the situation beyond the border ˆ send them in to see what ordinary men cannot see, send men of stature. Write a report; write positively… "We have been walking for long under horrible conditions." Ours is a hope of general blessings according to promises made. Ours is a hope of special favors because they say we are a special people. Israel at Kadesh-Barnea, not knowing where they were, not understanding the spiritual meaning of their position in time and spiritual geography.

KADESH, A LOCATION IN THE WILDERNESS of Paran between Shur and Edom, sometimes-called En-mishpat, the fountain of judgment. Kadesh, an indispensable stop along the path of ascent into the fullness of the Lord. Kadesh holds the significance of sanctification;

IT COVERS THE NECESSITY OF THOROUGH PREPARATION FOR THE UNCONVENTIONAL. Its meaning and role is something very much more and something altogether different than a long awaited turning point in routines, something far beyond a hopeful response to the all too common altar call and invitation to get blessed by the guest-speaker of the night. Kadesh-Barnea reappears in the spiritual geography of pilgrimage from time to time as a site at which the people chosen to be vessels for the testimony re-gather and convene to open up for the Lord to have His way with His people. Israel missed the mark at that first gathering.

A REPETITIOUS BEHAVIOR OCCURS AMONG THE PEOPLE OF GOD EVEN TODAY, WHEN HORNS ARE BLOWN AND A VOICE CALLS OUT: "NEXT STOP, KADESH!"

Now, the spies were sent. They were all men of stature. They had all visited Kadesh before during their inner walk with the Lord. Two of them proved later on to stand the test amidst the necessary confrontation and pressure at the intersection where spiritual values are brought to bear on physical realities.

THESE MEN HAD GONE A LONG WAY IN THE PREPARATION, WHICH WAS MEANT TO ENABLE THEM FOR LEADERSHIP, for the role of being helpers of the many men and women who were chosen to live and walk in an ever increasing fullness of Christ. What they went through at their Kadesh was in a sense prophetic as to the development of the kind intention of the Lord which he purposed in Christ with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is a summing up of all things in Christ. Eph 1:9-10.

KADESH SIGNIFIES A SPACE, A LOCALITY IN MIND, HEART AND SPIRIT WITH MEN AS WELL AS IN TIME AND GEOGRAPHY IN WHICH GOD HOLDS THE FIRST, REALLY THE ONLY PLACE. Kadesh, when it is allowed its proper role, is a situation in which the Lord thoroughly and totally rules. This is sanctification, to be set aside for the purposes of God, something set aside as a vessel for the administration of the fullness of Christ.

Again, these men were set aside for the purpose of an example of stature and for leadership. THEY HAD BEEN THOROUGHLY DEALT WITH IN THE SCHOOL OF MOSES. THESE SPIES WERE FULLY PREPARED TO TAKE ON HARDSHIP AND TO OVERCOME ANY AND EVERY OBSTACLE COMING IN THEIR WAY IN THIS NEW REALM OF OPERATION. They were trained to survive, even more; they were mature men able to stay strong and courageous for the sake of a sound report and for continuity. They were overcomers. These men leave us questions to ponder:

WHAT IS AN OVERCOMER?
What is the main object, the first and foremost obstacle as to which this particular frame of mind is set fort as the only possible way of ministration and management?

AT THE POINT OF RETURN THESE BRAVE MEN SOBERLY STATED THAT THE PROTECTION, THE COVERING ˆ LITERALLY, THE SHADOW ˆ HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE PEOPLES OCCUPYING THE LAND INTO WHICH THE LORD OF HOSTS INTENDED TO TAKE THEM, NUM 14:9. One might say that the power of the cross of Christ already was in operation, Col 2:15. Their shadow had faded, due to the presence of something or someone who had a far greater potential pertaining to protection, provision and peace. No fear needed to take heed to, not even in the valley of the shadow of death. This is in short our position and foundational viewpoint regarding to the matter of overcoming. The enemy, any enemy, once and for all overcome through the power of the blood of Jesus.

THE ENEMY IS CONQUERED FOR THE SAKE OF THE FULL AND UNLIMITED PRESENCE AND AUTHORITY OF THE FATHER.
But, this foundational, high potency fact is reinterpreted with great hurry and efficiency into common categories of ordinary man.

FLESH REAPPEARS AT THE CENTER OF THE SCENE OF REVELATION, REINFORCING ITS POSITION BY MEANS OF A STRONG HAND, CLEVER THINKING AND LOTS OF PUMPING ADRENALINE WITH THE SOLE INTENTION OF TAKING THE KINGDOM BY FORCE. It opens the mind to great prospects, but prospects rooted and embedded in gross misunderstanding publicly announcing easy pain reduction, declaring any problem to be solved by swift cuts by the sword of the Word. What we are left with is an overcoming intensely occupied with the enemy rather than a proper realization of Kades-Barnea "sanctification in progress", an ever-increasing yieldedness, an ever-growing occupation with the One sitting at the Thorne in Heaven.

THE REPORT OF THE RETURNING SPIES TRIGGERED A REACTION AT FULL BLAST FROM THE DESERT MIND:
"All the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the sons of Israel grumbled."
Num 14:1-2.

AT THE POINT OF PREPARATION FOR THE UNCONVENTIONAL, EVEN FOR THE UNATTAINABLE, THERE WAS BUT GRUMBLING. The Father, the Lord of Hosts, had a plan in motion since long with a view to an administration suitable to the purpose of his own, which is to allow Christ to be all in all.

FOR THIS REASON KADESH-BARNEA IS A MOVING SANCTUARY. IT IS PORTABLE. IT TAKES YOU EVERYWHERE.
WITHOUT IT YOU WILL GO NOWHERE.

KADESH IS PRESENT EVERYWHERE!
THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY TO GIVE THE LORD THE FIRST PLACE, EVEN THE ONLY PLACE!

KADESH MOVES WITH US INTO EVERY SITUATION,
DEMANDING THE VINDICATION OF THE LORD.

KADESH IS SET FORTH AS THE ONLY APPROACH TO OVERCOMING IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION ˆ THE WILLINGNESS TO STEP DOWN, TO YIELD, TO GIVE GOD THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO JUDGE, INSTRUCT AND TO COMMAND.

OVERCOMING IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS… EXCEPT FOR OBEYING.

OVERCOMING DOES NOT LIE WITHIN YOUR REALM OF DECISION MAKING… EXCEPT FOR ACCEPTING THE WILL AND WAY OF THE LORD.

AN OVERCOMER LEARNS TO AVOID THE MANY TRAPS
and pitfalls projected to stir the flesh and mind to try to be strong without the Lord. The overcomer learns to say no to the many additions and pluses to salvation and overcoming which the "shadows" present to tease your senses or impose by heavy pressure. Salvation is by the Lord, not by techniques. Overcoming is not a set of neat principles to follow, it is a full scale giving up of rights and personal prospects for the sake of presenting a heart open to the grace of God.

AFTER A FULL NIGHT OF CRYING AND GRUMBLING IN THE CAMP OF ISRAEL, Kadesh turned into En-mishpat, the fountain of judgment. And the judgment was harsh and drastic. This people of Israel, under the shadow of the Lord, flip from a state of thick darkness to the practical opposite. "We are going to take the kingdom by force and that at this very moment". Was this change in line with spiritual reality, in accordance to true concepts of overcoming? This was a people that did not want to obey when the Lord gave instructions. This was a people who tried to overrule the judgments of the Lord, claiming covering and applying promises in a situation in which the Lord did not take part.

THIS IS THE HEART OF THE FALSE OVERCOMING.
This is spiritual bravado. Man taking the right to apply promises according to his own mind. Man taking the right to claim covering, moving in into areas of spiritual confrontation on his own.

"But they went heedlessly." This was a people wavering between the prospect of eating themselves to death at the tables in Egypt, even contemplating suicide in the wilderness right in front of the Tabernacle and taking the new land, the promised land in a spirit of bravado " a vaunted display of courage and self-reliance." They were swaggering, blinded to the true nature of overcoming.

MODERN CATEGORISING WOULD SOON FIND THESE POOR FELLOWS TO HAVE BEEN CONTRACTING A CHARISMATIC NEUROSIS finding them to being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, stirred to temporary action by fanciful projects laid before them by men without stature. Men of stature follow hard after the Lord in a pursuit to serve with a view to an administration suitable to fullness and stature in the fullness of the times perfectly according to the purpose of God.

What was the country like which they had been tied to for so long?

IT WAS A DESERT COUNTRY, DRY AND TARDY. IT DID NOT PRODUCE MUCH EXCITEMENT. Prospects of produce and prosperity were low indeed. Its original dwellers were the Amorites. For some unknown reason they carried this awkward name. It denoted persons prone to be talkative; the old reliable Hebrew dictionary called them praters. This label pointed out the abuse of words, a talking idly and at length depriving words and concepts of their true value.

Paul mentions a cleverness of speech used to empty the cross of Christ of its saving power, 1Cor 1:17.
THIS IS THE SHADOW PROJECTED INTO THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE LORD, PRODUCING THE WAVERING BETWEEN DEPRESSION UNTO SUICIDE DECREED BY UNWILLINGNESS TO HEAR AND OBEY AND A FATAL SPIRITUAL BRAVADO ROOTED IN THE EXACTLY THE SAME POSITION AND ATTITUDE.

THERE WERE ONLY TWO MEN WHO DID NO BOW TO THE COMMON DESERT MENTALITY, A NEGLIGIBLE ENTITY WITHIN THE WHOLE, A REMNANT IF YOU LIKE. But, this minority of minorities carried the vital substance of spirituality ˆ a different spirit, Num 14:24 ˆ which the Lord counted as the only thing worth carrying over into the future.

HOW UTTERLY SAD, A WHOLE GENERATION LOST
at Kadesh-Barnea simply because they could not identify and hold on to what was of real value, exchanging genuine overcoming for presumption and bravado. THIS IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN THE NAME OF THE LORD BUT UNDER THE SHADOW OF POWERS THAT REINSTATE FLESH ON THE THRONE. There is no successful "what a word to use in relation to what we are considering here" no successful prayer warfare without a thorough work of the Holy Spirit at a constantly reappearing Kadesh-Barnea.

THE GLORY OF GOD IS FOR REAL.
THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS SOMETHING TANGIBLE, SOMETHING SUBSTANTIAL.

IT CANNOT BE REPLACED WITH A COUNTERFEIT.
A nation of priests is to carry it through the wilderness of out time.

THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, THE MAJESTY OF GOD, THE STATURE AND DIGNITY OF THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY WILL NOT ALLOW PRESUMPTION, PRETENSION OR FALSEHOOD. Who dares to come up with concepts of worship, things aimed at pleasing the Lord, things aiming at giving room for his glory, which at the same time does not project the purposes of Heaven? The Amorite does. The one who do not care for the cross does. The one who do not care for the well of judgment ever present along the path of pilgrimage dares to do so. The one who do not care for the administration suitable to the fullness of Christ dares to talk and walk as if God is not interested in the vindication of His Name. This is what true overcoming is all about.

THE GREATEST MOMENT OF DEFEAT IS INTRODUCED TO THE CHURCH WHEN IT DECIDES TO REDEFINE THE CONCEPT OF OVERCOMING. The overthrow of the church is complete when it gives itself to an overcoming intended to save from the full impact of Kadesh.

THE BABYLONIAN OVERCOMING NEVER INTENDS TO CUT OFF THE EVIL AT ITS ROOT. It never moves all the way in allowing God the full rights to life and belongings. The "I" is always left untouched on the throne to decide what God can have and what He may do. The overcoming, which is stained by the Amorite touch, leaves the cross behind. It is seen as an escape route bringing pressure to lowest impact level and taking pleasure to its maximum.

Kadesh-Barnea is first and foremost a spiritual necessity in the realm of the shadow of the Amorites, among those who lay hold of the promises for the sake of spiritual indolence. Kadesh-Barnea takes its people to a place of maturity and it takes hard work to get there. Kadesh brings in a spiritual state of stature resulting in practical priestly ministry. It leaves its trademark wherever greater measure fullness is needed.

THE OVERCOMER IS A PERSON WHO IS WILLING TO LEARN TO STEP ASIDE. It takes effort to allow oneself to be removed from the center of events, to be reduced in importance. The overcomer turns his rights over to the Lord… "He never claims or demands. He shuns the ways and principles of the world."

OVERCOMING WILL NEVER BE ACHIEVED THROUGH MEANS OF PSYCHOLOGY OR THE MANIPULATIVE TWISTS AND TURNS HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM IN THE MARKET PLACE. It has nothing to do with the improvement of what is, but it is totally dedicated to an apprehending of a full measure of what the cross holds in store. The overcomer tilts the balance of power. His own bowl emptied for the sake of a full measure of the presence of the Lord. The overcomer is fully pleased with this order of things, the presence of a Kadesh-Barnea, a total impact of the Holy Spirit unto emptying for the sake of the fullness of Christ; a full and carefully undertaken work of the Holy Spirit unto heavenly stature and maturity.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION AT KADESH-BARNEA,
THEIRS WILL BE A WALK TOWARD FULLNESS IN CHRIST.

BLESSED ARE THESE OVERCOMERS,
THE POOR IN SPIRIT,
FOR THEIRS IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I am passing on to you a truly crucial and what I ever so tenderly discern, is a truthful word from the Lord in this time of preparation and continued shaking of the religious and self-built empires of man.

I humbly ask especially the men in the Body of Christ who read this prophetic exhortation, to allow the Lord to walk the hidden and wounded areas of your hearts and to "hear" Him through this word.

If the potentially up-and-coming leaders of the next apostolic surge of fathering and mothering do not have loving and nurturing qualities actively at work in their own marriages, as well as provisional and protective measures in position, how will there ever be a breakaway from the past religious bondages and a release into fresh places of purity and integral service?

How will another generation of incubating leaders ever move to higher dimensions of integrity and release if those attempting to lead them still walk in self centered "navel gazing?"

Please...risk the loving warnings and correcting, as well as encouragement of the Lord, and read the following visionary insight from a seasoned voice in the body of Christ.

"When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth." 1 Cor 5:4-8

NOW IS THE TIME - I SHALL BRING LOW AND I SHALL LIFT UP.

THERE ARE MANY OF MY OWN WHO ARE BOASTERS OF YOUR OWN SELVES, HAVING A SUPERIOR ATTITUDE OF WHO YOU ARE.

You claim the Name of Jesus but you claim it as a special privilege to set yourselves above others. You claim His Name in expecting special favor, special protection and special privilege while subtly you trample down what My Son did for ALL !!! You minister to people in My Name but spend more time talking about yourselves and your accomplishments than you do of the Name of Jesus and what HE can truly do in a person's life.

HUSBANDS, YOU MISTREAT YOUR WIVES WHILE ELEVATING OTHERS ABOVE THEM AND YOU DARE TO EXPECT ME TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS AND TO BLESS YOU IN ALL YOUR ENDEAVORS. Husbands who say, “Lord, I am not into physical adultery!”… but you exhibit spiritual adultery in your heart and words. Slavery, in fact you treat your wives and other women as a type of slave... you have backed them into a corner and in many cases the church is helping you keep them there.

This is an indicator of a much deeper problem, the arrogance and pride of man spilling over in your life and your actions while claiming to be Mine. Arrogance and pride in who you are and what “you believe” is robbing you of who you are to be In Christ. There is only one way back, to re-order your life in the ways of your heavenly Father. I will not and I cannot bless a man or a church who mistreats any of My daughters. Such pride and arrogance in self I will tolerate no longer.

I HAVE SENT MANY WARNINGS YOUR WAY, MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS BUT STILL MANY COMPROMISE - WHILE SAYING YOU PUT ME FIRST.

You have deceived yourself as thinking you are wise but it is wisdom by the standards of this age , but your Lord knows and the thoughts of the wise are futile. You boast of what you know and that you can't possibly be in any error of what you believe. You continue to believe you shall walk in My power in the times to come and that you will have My protection.

YOU HAVE PUT YOURSELF FIRST IN ALL THAT YOU SAY OR DO and through the steps you have taken you have sought your own power but the results will be to your own peril. You have prepared, though you will disagree even now, 'in the flesh' and you will reap both trouble in the flesh 'and' in the spirit.

YOU HAVE STOOD PROCLAIMING TO BE A CHRISTIAN WHILE YOUR HEART IS FAR FROM IT. You have worshipped your own beliefs and you stand in control of your own destiny while giving lip service to Me. I AM shall not be mocked! Yes, I have been long suffering but the time has come for Me to step in and set things right. I have asked you to submit to Me in all things but your arrogance in what you believe, even now closes your ears for you to hear....

YOU PROCLAIM YOU LIFT THE CROSS OF JESUS HIGH IN ALL THAT YOU SAY OR DO. Yet you judge and approve of barriers and divisions between peoples and nations. You judge others rather than seeing each person as someone for whom Jesus died and promised to draw unto Himself. You claim to be His but you use the cross more as a club of submission when you should be using it as drawing people to reconciliation.

I AM THAT I AM.... HAVE I NOT SAID THAT JUDGMENT BEGINS WITH MY OWN? You think because you have continued unchecked that my judgment shall not come to you.I have spoken over and over and over again, in warning but you have continued on your own path of destruction.

YOU HAVE PERSISTED IN BRINGING OTHERS LOW
while elevating yourself and you have come to a point in your own mind that you cannot possibly accept this as being true of yourself. You had a slot in time for true repentance but now you have crossed over in your own arrogance and self righteousness. Did you really believe that I would not lift My protection from upon you? Even now, most will not see, even now you will proclaim that you speak My words of truth, but the truth is 'you' are in control of your own words and actions but Beloved, the I AM is and always will be.... In Control!!!!

EVEN NOW, I SAY AGAIN, YOU MUST BE HOLY AS I AM HOLY,
you have heard Me say this before and once again I speak for you to either follow Me according to My Word or you will not be with Me at all. Yet most, even now will continue to be blinded to what you are doing - but a few, I say a few will allow My Words to penetrate your heart and repent and truly follow me in all My ways and you will be part of My greatest move that is about to spring on the world.

FOR THE REMAINDER OF YOU WHO STILL DO NOT SEEK TO "SEE", DESPITE ALL OF MY WARNINGS AND TRULY CHANGE YOUR WAYS, YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO ONE OF TWO ACTIONS.... For some, I will take you home before you can ostracize yourself completely from me. For some, My protection will leave you and you will be handed over to Satan so the sinful nature may be destroyed so that your spirit may be saved on the "Day of the Lord."

YOU HAVE PUT YOURSELF FIRST IN ALL THAT YOU SAY OR DO and I must take action for My Name's Sake. Yes, I shall be hard on you but it is for the ultimate end of your true and complete return to Me. This is a final wake-up call, there is no time to waste for I AM moving and I AM moving speedily!

"In the time of My favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 COR 6:2

NOW, I WILL TURN TO THOSE WHO ARE TRULY SERVING ME IN TRUTH AND THEY WILL HAVE MY PROTECTION IN THE DARK TIMES TO COME.

I will free them from the current snares and circumstances they have been living under and from those whose ultimate motive has been to rule over them. Yes, I shall now bring complete freedom to those who others have sought to bring low for they have been prepared by My hand and will stand wholly before Me.

These are called by My Name and you shall stand triumphant in the midst of all to come. To you, My Beloved, I AM instilling a Spirit of Peace and My Spirit of Peace shall lead you from this day forward.
I said I would band you together, that was My promise to you and I will do as I have promised. Even now I have placed some of you together and more will be added unto you.

YOU SHALL WALK IN WHAT I HAVE ORDAINED FOR YOU AND YOU WILL NOT COMPROMISE MY WORD IN ANY WAY BUT WALK IN A TRUE SPIRIT OF HUMILITY AND LOVE.

You, My Beloved, shall stand in My love and in My truth and I shall raise you up victorious "by Myself" for you have listened to your Heavenly Father even when being held down by your circumstances. You place Me before all, even your own ambitions and desires, now you will see Me move amongst you and you shall go forth in My Name as My light unto the world while seeing all of My promises to you come to past and receiving blessings beyond what you can contain.

HEAR ME NOW: "DO NOT FRET YOURSELVES ANY LONGER BECAUSE OF THE WORKERS OF VICE, FOR THEY SHALL BE CUT OFF." It is because of the Rock of Conviction, Jesus the Christ, that I AM is with you and In you and I say to you SURELY the gates of hell shall not prevail !!!

SOME WILL SEE ME GEOGRAPHICALLY MOVE THEM IN A TWINKLING OF AN EYE.... Some will see My blessings surround them and they will be astounded.... Some will see the places of refuge in which I am giving to their trust - raised up in a day....

EVERY ONE OF MY FAITHFUL ONES WILL EXPERIENCE THE MIRACULOUS WHICH WILL CATAPULT THEM INTO THEIR DESTINY..... I tell you, Now is the time of My favor! Now is the day of salvation ! Now is the time for your to rejoice for you will see the salvation of your Lord in every area of your life.

In Germany, when Hitler came to power, it was a time of terrible financial depression. Money was worth nothing.

In Germany people lost homes and jobs, just like in the American Depression in the 1930s, which we have read about in Thoene's Shiloh books.

In those days, in my homeland,
Adolph Hitler was elected to power by promising "Change."

He blamed the "Zionists" around the world for all our problems.
He told everyone it was greedy Zionist Bankers who had caused every problem we had.
He promised when he was leader, the greedy Zionist bankers would be punished. The Zionists, he promised, would be wiped off the face of the earth.
So Hitler was elected to power by only 1/3 the popular vote.

A coalition of other political parties in parliament made him supreme leader.
Then, when he was leader, he disgraced and expelled everyone in parliament who did not go along with him.

Yes. Change came to my homeland as the new leader promised it would.
The teachers in German schools began to teach the children to sing songs in praise of Hitler.

This was the beginning of the Hitler Youth movement.
It began with praise of the Fuhrer's programs on the lips of innocent children.
Hymns in praise of Hitler and his programs were being sung in the schoolrooms and in the playyard.

Little girls and boys joined hands and sang these songs as they walked home from school.

My brother came home and told Papa what was happening at school.
The political hymns of children proclaimed Change was coming to our homeland and the Fuhrer was a leader we could trust.

I will never forget my father's face. Grief and fear. He knew that the best propaganda of the Nazis was song on the lips of little children.

That evening before he said grace at the dinner table, he placed his hands upon the heads of my brothers and me and prayed the Living Word upon us from Jeremiah 1:4-5.

'Now the Word of the Lord came to me, saying,
"Before I formed you in the
womb I knew you,
and before you were born I
consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to
The nations."

Soon the children's songs praising the Fuhrer were heard everywhere on the streets and over the radio. "With our Fuhrer to lead us, we can do it! We can change the world!"

Soon after that Papa, a pastor, was turned away from visiting elderly parishioners in hospitals. The people he had come to bring comfort of God's Word, were "no longer there."

Where had they vanished to while under nationalized health care? It became an open secret.

The elderly and sick began to disappear from hospitals feet first as "mercy killing" became the policy.

Children with disabilities and those who had Down syndrome were euthanized.

People whispered, "Maybe it is better for them now. Put them out of misery.
They are no longer suffering.And, of course, their death is better for the treasury of our nation. Our taxes no longer must be spent to care for such a burden."
And so murder was called mercy.

The government took over private business. Industry and health care were "nationalized." (NA-ZI means National Socialist Party)

The businesses of all Jews were seized. (Perhaps you remember our story in Berlin on Krystalnacht in the book Munich Signature)

The world and God's word were turned upside down.
Hitler promised the people economic Change?
Not change. It was, rather, Lucifer's very ancient Delusion leading to Destruction.

What began with the propaganda of children singing a catchy tune ended in the deaths of millions of children.

The reality of what came upon us is so horrible that you in this present generation cannot imagine it. Our suffering is too great to ever tell in a book or show in a black and white newsreel.

When I spoke to Bodie about some of these things, she wept and said she could not bear to write them.

Perhaps one day she will, but I asked her, "who could bear to read our suffering?"
Yet with my last breaths I warn every Christian and Jew now in the name of the Lord,
Unless your course of the church in America is spiritually changed now, returning to the Lord, there are new horrors yet to come.

I trembled last night when I heard the voices of American children raised in song, praising the name of Obama, the charismatic fellow who claims he is the American Messiah.
Yet I have heard what this man Obama says about abortion and the "mercy killing" of tiny babies who are not wanted.

There are so few of us left to warn you.

I have heard that there are 69 million Catholics in America and 70 million Evangelical Christians.

Where are your voices?
Where is your outrage?
Where is passion and your vote?

Do you vote based on an abortionist's empty promises and economics?
Or do you vote according to the Bible?

Thus says the Lord about every living child still in the womb.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you."

I have experienced the signs of the politics of Death in my youth.
I see them again now.
Christians! Unless you stand up now, you will lose your freedom of religion.

In America priests and preachers have already lost their freedom to speak openly from their pulpits of moral danger in political candidates.

They cannot legally instruct you of which candidate holds fast to the precepts of scripture!
American law forbids this freedom of speech to conservative pastors or they will lose their "tax exempt" status.

And yet I have heard the words of Obama's pastor Damning America!
I have heard the words of Obama damning and mocking all of you in small towns because you "Cling to your religion."

But I am a woman whose name is unknown. My life is recorded as a work of fiction.
I have no fear of reprisal when I speak truth to you from the pages of a book.
(Though the Zion Covenant books are mocked and condemned by the Left in America.)

I am an old woman and will soon go to be with my Lord.
I have no fear for myself, but for all of you and for your children, I tremble.

I tremble at the hymns to a political leaders which your children will sing at school.
(Though even now a hymn or a prayer to God and our Lord Jesus is against the law in public school!)

Your vote must put a stop to what will come upon America if Barrack Obama is elected.
I pray you will personally heed this warning for the sake of your children and your grandchildren. Do not be deceived.

The Lord in Jeremiah 1:7-8 commands every believer to speak up!

"Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to all whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Do not be afraid of them for I am with you, declares the Lord!"

I am in Prayer for you, and for the Church!
Spoken to you in the authority of Jesus the Christ,
the Name Above All Names,
Lori Kalner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meri Ford
PO Box 63
Onalaska, WA 98570
renewedhope@peoplepc.com

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Please listen to the following message with your spirit first and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through it.

I say this because if not discerned and embraced by the spirit first…the soul will immediately defend itself and “bluster and spit” in shock that anyone might imply that it or you have the stated problem!

It is really rather amazing that any of us are ever really useful the Lord when we begin to examine the "secret sins" that are active in our lives and in the way the bride of the King has presented herself.

IN THIS MODERN AGE OF RELENTLESS COMPETITIVE LADDER CLIMBING,
ARROGANCE IS ALMOST APPLAUDED AS A SUPER TALENT TO SUCCESS!

Politicians boast of their greatness to lead, TV personalities shred other individuals on live programs and, sadly, many who have claimed to be "servants" of the Lord have competed, slandered, and have positioned themselves as "the most recent cutting edge" in Kingdom prototypes! You little people just better get out of the way!

THE MINDSET OF A MAMMON WORSHIPPER
Mammon worship seems to me to have sprung from a not so underlying issue that is rampant in the earth today and has in “pandemic waves” ... invaded the church.

What is this massive delusion titled?

“IT’S ALL ABOUT ME- ISM!”
Or also known as narcissism.
The basic trait of the Narcissistic Individual is a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of the ability to identify with and understand another person’s feelings or difficulties

THE NARCISSISTIC PERSON'S OPERATING MODE
* Reacts to disapproval with feelings of rage, shame, or humiliation;
* Exploits others skills, gifts or talents for personal gain or comfort:
(Takes advantage of others to achieve his/her own ends;)
* Has a magnificent sense of self-importance;
* Believes that his/her problems are unique and can be understood only by other special people;
* Is preoccupied with goals of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love;
* Has a sense of entitlement: an unreasonable expectation of especially favorable treatment;
* Requires much attention and admiration of others;
* Lacks empathy: fails to recognize and experience how others feel;
* Is wrapped up with feelings of materialism.

WHEN NARCISSISTIC INFLUENCES AND MAMMON COLLIDE…
… The love of self and the love of admiration and personal success is the standard people begin to judge one another with.

But for the sold out believer it must be that we decrease,
And He – the ONE…
…The only one who has no arrogance - must increase.

NOBODY'S PRACTICES ARE BEYOND BIBLICAL JUDGMENT
Biblically, authority and accountability go hand in hand.
(e.g., Luke 12:48).
The greater the responsibility one holds, the greater the accountability one has before God and His people.

Teachers should be extremely careful not to mislead any believer, for their calling carries with it a strict judgment (James 3:1).

They should therefore be grateful when sincere Christians take the time to question them about the teaching and yes, even possibly bring correction to correct whatever unsound doctrine they may be preaching.

And should the criticisms be groundless they should respond in the manner prearranged by Scripture: to correct misguided doctrinal opposition with GENTLE instruction
(2 Tim. 2:25).

"ARROGANCE IS A DISEASE THAT MAKES EVERYONE SICK...
... EXCEPT THE ONE WHO HAS IT!"

Vanity of vanities!
Why put on with foolish pride an illusion of soul's lust?
Why make yourself a statue of gold when you're only made of dust?
-Author unknown

Remember! Even the disciple Peter had to deal with this issue!
He presumed to tell the Lord what would never happen in His ministry! The actual crucifixion!

LISTEN TO WHAT THE LORD PROPHESIED TO US IN ISAIAH ABOUT THE VERY SAME ISSUE.
“And the word of One will go forth, "Cast up, cast up (to throw something away from yourself, usually with force) Prepare the way! Take up the stumbling block out of the way of the spiritual return of My people."

For this is what The High and Almighty One has to say—He Who inhabits eternity,
Whose name is Holy:

"I dwell in the high and holy place, but I also dwell with him who is of a thoroughly penitent and humble spirit, to revive, to reawaken the spirit of the humble and to reinstate the heart of the thoroughly broken bruised with sorrow for their sin."
Isaiah 57:14-15

HERE ARE SOME DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WORD ARROGANCE:

Arrogance:
The act or habit of making uncalled-for claims in an overbearing manner; that species of pride which consists in exorbitant claims of rank, dignity, estimation, or power, or which exalts the worth or importance of the person to an undue degree; proud contempt of others; lordliness; haughtiness

IF WE ARE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD WE ARE TO BE HUMBLE
and fully aware of our need for daily brokenness and a deep daily need for reconsidering our reasons to stick to Jesus.

THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE THE CHILDREN OF THE KING JESUS ARE TO REFLECT HUMILITY.

IN REGARD TO SATAN'S KINGDOM,
HE IS SAID TO BE A 'KING OVER ALL THE CHILDREN OF PRIDE.'

“The proud and arrogant man— Mocker is his name;
He behaves with presumptuous pride.
He acts with boundless arrogance.”
Proverbs 21:24

PRAY THIS SIMPLE PRAYER WITH ME WON'T YOU?

Lord, help all of us as your servants to keep the subtle disease of arrogance and it's influences, far from us. Teach us oh precious King how to model redemptive mercy, sincere humility, and open repentance before those whom we serve alongside with in your kingdom assignments in our lives. Amen

Monday, June 16, 2008

For the past few days now, the Lord has been sharing with me several prophetic impressions and insights regarding the rapidly coming exposure of Major Oil Revenue hoarding and it’s hidden illegal financial practices. His exact impressions to me were, “Just as ENRON and WORLDCOM inflated values, lied, withheld, and cheated, so are many of the big oil magnates doing at this time.”

Also, some of the newer developing alternative fuel product developers are being greedy and are dealing “under the table” with foreign refining sources.

I have prayerfully written down the warnings and potential blessings which the Lord has shared regarding these matters so that you may read them and join me in prayer over them,

Please read and consider these insights with a sober and hungry heart.

“The compassion of My heart is always available to those who likewise show compassion on those needing relief.

But just as I can express compassion and as “I AM” compassion, so am I a God of justice and fair rule.

I have warned and /I have exposed, and yet mankind still goes down pathways of greed and hoarding in every generation. And so, their nations are stripped of former glory and wealth, until again, they repent and turn to Me in a humbled state.

I am allowing a fierce wind to blow across many nations.

Strange and unexpected whirlwinds and gusts will continue to shatter man's ability to predict weather and its patterns. This wind is one that comes to inspect the heart value of the grain in man’s hearts.”

A DIVINELY DIRECTED WIND

“I will allow your lives to be caught up into a Divinely Directed wind of change. I will blow off in this fierce time, the chaff in your life.”

Chaff

The husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing.

• Chopped hay and straw used as fodder.

• Figurative worthless things; trash.

“I will allow it to be stripped and it will no longer able to cling to the kernel of grain or seen, and your life fruit will be exposed for either it’s ability to be used as grain for the bread of life as a servant in My kingdom, served up as a life meal for those hungering for truth and redemption, or I will expose those that have hoarded, and hidden their abundance and abilities unto themselves, and for their own promotional purposes in the earth.

As this wind I send blows upon the greedy and the hoarders in this hour, I will not only strip them of their chaff, but I will strip them of the withered grain they have allowed chaff to rule over and cling to in their heart and hidden dealings with others.”

Psalm 1:4

…the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

RUTHLESS OIL AND LANDOWNERS

“The ruthless oil and landowners who have inflated values and who have gained wealth off of the backs of their fellowman can in one day, be judged. Some will have their hearts fail them, some will be stripped of their belongings as the media exposé’s begin to call them into public scrutiny which will ruthlessly reveal their dishonest business practices.

In one day, many shall have the gavel of judgment fall upon them and they will lose much and be shunned by family and fired for their folly.”

“Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” Revelation 18:8

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” Luke 12: 2-3

A GUSHER OF GRACE FOR THE FAITHFUL

“At that same time, almost simultaneously, I will be releasing others who have faithfully tended to the small fields of preparation I have had them assigned to in life, both in natural oil and “spiritual oil” arenas, and have heard the sound of My voice giving them witty inventions and ideas to assist those who cannot help themselves.

Some of these faithful ones will in one day, see a “gusher of grace” and Divine supply pour forth from their long years of labor in places of hiddenness, brokenness, and faithfulness.”

“Everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:47

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12 32-34

ETHANOL - GRAPPLING WITH GREED

The Lord impressed we with a warning to those who are in the position of growing, and selling grain.

“People curse the man who hoards grain,

But blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.”

Proverbs 11:26

“With the current crisis in the oil and energy industries, those who are attempting to make a “killing” with over-inflated grain prices and who are processing it for Ethanol at inflated prices for the sake of personal greed - the Lord warns them that they will be cursed by those around them if they hoard and grasp all for their own self protection.

BUT. If they are willing to sell, and sell with a fair profit, they will be crowned with blessing.”

“People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” 1 Timothy 6:9

“There is time to set the situation back onto a corrected path.

Act now and be spared the public judgement of your foolish choices and actions.”

INTERPRETING THE TIMES

"When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky.

How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right?

As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” Luke 12 54-59

A WORD FOR THOSE IN POSITION FOR RECEIVING

“I am instructing you about My desires now before these things occur so that you will do My will and honor Me. You will need to take a sober and pure approach to the sharing of the blessings that will overtake you. These blessings will come in many forms.

Some will receive inheritances from family storehouses, and must be delegated as I would have them be distributed. If you attempt to rob or cheat others for fear you do not gain enough for yourself, you will lose your Place with ME.”

“Some of my faithful will receive windfalls and financial supplies from the wealth of the heathen who hoarded it. Be Very very careful to not allow that same spirit to overtake you, and do not “lord it over” others as I instruct you who to share these revealed riches and kingdom redemptive gifts with.”

“Your life is made up of My choices now, and My choices you must obey and not attempt to minimize or franchise! Make your decision now to be generous, genuine, and open handed in your dealings – not with clenched fists and unnecessary scrutiny of your brothers and sisters.

Pride and suspicion are the evil twins attached to greed, and will always urge the flesh to be suspicious of “giving too much” or risking all for the King of Glory.”

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Luke 12:15

TECHNOLOGY AT ITS “SPEEDIEST AND SEEDIEST”

“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.”

Genesis 11:1

Nothing is new to the King of Heaven and He knows the thoughts and intentions of men’s hearts.

Just as those building the tower of Babel began to attempt to plan how they would use their mighty tower to communicate their way to reach “godly heights” - so are those who are attempting to use media technology to promote and influence minds with false promises, sensual streaming videos, online gambling, astrology, and all manner of entertainment, meant to draw mankind away from simple and quiet communication with the Voice of the Good Shepherd.

The Spirit of the Lord urges believers who are swiftly becoming trapped in the dependency upon technological tools, to discipline their flesh from the lure of "escapism” into dependency on “noise and visuals” to educate, guide, and inform them.

“Draw near to My Presence in quietness and rest, and return to the place of simple communication with me.”

Isaiah 50:4

“The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.”

Proverbs 8:34

“Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”

About Me

Mary has a passion for encouraging others in all generations and careers or vocations to live and express excellence through personal integrity, healthy accountability, and wise management of talents and skills.
Mary has been known as a versatile talent since her early teenage years. She has been a keynote inspirational and humorous speaker and teacher throughout the United States, Africa, England, France, Australia,The Netherlands, Canada, and Germany, in Ministers conferences, International Spiritual leaders Conferences, and in National and International training seminars for various organizations.
Mary has been involved in private and public leadership relationship team building settings among many people groups in various nations, often meeting with local dignitaries and governmental leaders.
Mary has been featured as a singing and speaking guest on local and national Christian television programs as well as being involved in television production, hosting and performing as a vocalist.
Mary has sung in concert with renowned Christian recording artists like Larnelle Harris and has been a vocal talent for local and international jingle productions.